“We have asked the judges to arrive in Kathmandu by Monday. So there will be no hearings until they return,” said Hemanta Rawal, co-spokesperson at the Supreme Court.
To minimize the effect from the lack of court activities, the Supreme Court, which is also the organizer of the conference, has asked the judges to take as little time off from their courts as possible. However, most of the participants are already in Kathmandu.
Requesting anonymity, a judge told myrepublica.com that he left his work place on Friday. “The case is the same in other courts,” he said.
When asked why the apex court had called all the judges for the conference without considering the effect it could have in court works, Rawal said it (Supreme Court) "had no alternative".
Altogether 223 judges from the Supreme Court, the 16 appellate courts and the 75 district courts are taking part in the conference. Agendas for the first-ever conference include adopting a code of conduct for judges, reviewing the five-year strategy plan for the judiciary system and discussing judicial independence and accountability.
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